Jackfruit harvest!

The time had come. Well I don’t know if it was THE time. But it was still time. I was worried my little jackfruit would ripen before I got the chance to pick it and I don’t like ripe jackfruit. Granted I’ve only tried it frozen from an Asian grocery store. But I didn’t like it. I do like cooked unripe jackfruit served as a “meat substitute” though. You can use it pretty much in place of pulled pork. It makes great sloppy burgers or chilli.

So last weekend I picked my jackfruit, which weighed in at a tiny 3.7kg (jackfruit are often upwards of 20-30kg and can weigh up to 50kg!). The one YouTube video I watched suggested I cover my bench with glad wrap to protect it from the latex-like substance that oozes from the fruit. To be honest my benchtop would have been fine, I kept most of the mess on the chopping board. I should have copied her disposable latex gloves though. Despite oiling everything in sight (which makes it VERY hard to hold your knife), my hands ended up covered in chewing-gummy goo that I thought would wash off in hot water but all that did was spread it around. I ended up scraping it off. Gross. But I got the jackfruit chopped into chunks and popped it in a big stock pot to boil. Once tender I shredded it and filled several ziplock baggies ready for future meals.

This weekend we made “pulled pork” burgers (no pork, just jackfruit). Delicious! And well worth the effort. Let’s hope my little tree gives me more jackfruit soon!

If you want evidence of my efforts check out my quick video here.

The recipe we hacked and modified from the wonderful world wide web is below.

I promise it tastes better than it looks.

Pulled Jackfruit Burgers

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cooked green jackfruit (you could try 2 cans of canned jackfruit)

1 1/2 tsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp chilli powder

1/2 cup bbq sauce (we used Whitlock and Sons Chipotle bbq)

4 breadrolls

Coleslaw (we made our own with cabbage, apple, carrot, papalo, and mexican coriander with a drizzle of lime juice, olive oil and pinch of salt as a dressing).

Mayo/extra bbq sauce, to serve

Method:

Mix spices with jackfruit. Fry. Add bbq sauce and water. Cook until reduced for 1/2 an hour.

Toast breadrolls, spread with mayo or bbq sauce to your liking. Add coleslaw and jackfruit mixture.

Serve (embrace the mess!).

A food photographer I am not. They are sweet potato fries on the side.